Manufacturing line computer system and network setup method of the same

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a manufacturing line computer system including: first and second computers. The first computer includes a storage section adapted to store a template that associates role information of the second computer and a network address of the second computer; and a reply section adapted to return the network address of the second computer associated with the role information to the second computer in response to reception of the role information from the second computer. The second computer includes an input section adapted to input the role information of the second computer; a transmission section adapted to send the input role information of the second computer to the first computer; and a network address setup section adapted to specify the network address, returned from the first computer, for the second computer.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/961,052, accorded a filing date of Apr. 24, 2018, allowed, whichclaims priority to JP Application No. 2017-093603, filed May 10, 2017,the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a manufacturing line computer systemand a network setup method thereof, and more particularly, to setup of acomputer system network arranged along manufacturing lines.

Recent years have seen a number of computers arranged alongmanufacturing lines in manufacturing plants that manufacture a varietyof goods. Some of these computers are connected, for example, tomanufacturing robots to control these robots, others are used to recordproduction logs of goods, and still others are used to write necessarydata to information apparatuses, manufactured goods. These computers areconnected to a network for communication with other computers asoccasion demand.

SUMMARY

At the time of erection of manufacturing lines and addition of newlines, it is necessary to arrange a number of computers along themanufacturing lines as described above and set up each computer fornetworking correctly so that data communication can be exchanged betweenthe computers as intended. However, this task is often complicated andtime-consuming.

The present disclosure has been devised in light of the foregoing, andit is desirable to provide a manufacturing line computer system and anetwork setup method thereof that allow for easy and reliable networksetup of computers arranged along manufacturing lines.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provideda manufacturing line computer system that includes first and secondcomputers. The first computer includes a storage section and a replysection. The storage section stores a template that associates roleinformation of the second computer and a network address of the secondcomputer. The reply section returns the network address of the secondcomputer associated with the role information to the second computer inresponse to reception of the role information from the second computer.The second computer includes an input section, a transmission section,and a network address setup section. The input section inputs the roleinformation of the second computer. The transmission section sends theinput role information of the second computer to the first computer. Thenetwork address setup section specifies the network address returnedfrom the first computer, for the second computer.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, there isprovided a network setup method of a manufacturing line computer system.The manufacturing line computer system includes first and secondcomputers. The network setup method includes a step of inputting roleinformation of the second computer to the second computer. The networksetup method further includes a step of sending the input roleinformation of the second computer from the second computer to the firstcomputer. The network setup method still further includes a step ofreferring to a template that associates role information of the secondcomputer and a network address of the second computer on the firstcomputer and acquiring the network address of the second computerassociated with the received role information. The network setup methodstill further includes a step of returning the acquired network addressof the second computer to the second computer. The network setup methodstill further includes a step of specifying the network address,returned from the first computer, for the second computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a manufacturing plantcomputer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a template used tospecify addresses for apparatuses of a manufacturing line computersystem;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating another example of a template used tospecify addresses for apparatuses of the manufacturing line computersystem;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a network setup program executed on aline controller; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating processes of a network setup programexecuted on the plant apparatuses and processes of a support programexecuted on the line controller.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A detailed description will be given below of an embodiment of thepresent disclosure with reference to drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a manufacturing plantcomputer system 1 according to the present embodiment. The manufacturingplant computer system 1 depicted in FIG. 1 is installed in amanufacturing plant that manufactures information apparatuses such asgame consoles and includes a site server 10. The site server 10 is aserver computer that manages the manufacturing plant computer system 1as a whole.

There are provided, for example, four manufacturing lines in thismanufacturing plant. We assume here that an automated manufacturing lineA1 and a manual manufacturing line B1 are in place as existingmanufacturing line. We also assume that an automated manufacturing lineA2 and a manual manufacturing line B2 will be newly added.

A manufacturing line computer system 30A-1 is in place for the existingautomated manufacturing line A1, and a manufacturing line computersystem 30B-1 is in place for the existing manual manufacturing line B1.Also, a manufacturing line computer system 30A-2 will be in place forthe new automated manufacturing line A2 which will be added, and amanufacturing line computer system 30B-2 will be in place for the newmanual manufacturing line B2 which will be added. Both of the automatedmanufacturing lines A1 and A2 manufacture goods of the same kind throughthe same processes (robot-based automated processes). Similarly, both ofthe manual manufacturing lines B1 and B2 manufacture goods of the samekind through the same processes (manual labor-oriented processes).

The manufacturing line computer system 30A-1 includes a line controller32 (first computer), a server computer, and a number of plantapparatuses 36 (second computer) that are connected to the linecontroller 32 via a switching hub 34, thereby forming a manufacturingline network 35. The line controller 32 includes a NAT (Network AddressTranslation) function 32 a and a DHCP (Dynamic Host ConfigurationProtocol) server function 32 b. The line controller 32 is also connectedto the site server 10 via a management network 20.

Each of the plant apparatuses 36 includes a computer. Among examples ofcomputers incorporated in the plant apparatuses 36 are those connectedto robot arms to control the robot arm, those connected to labelprinters to control the label printers, those for writing data toinformation apparatuses, manufactured goods, those for recordingproduction logs, those for conducting various inspections, those forcontrolling conveyors for transporting manufactured goods, thoseconnected to cameras to control the cameras, and those for analyzingcamera images. Apparatuses adequate for the processes carried out in theautomated manufacturing line A1 are employed as the plant apparatuses36.

The switching hub 34 supports a subnet-based VLAN (Virtual Local AreaNetwork). The subnet-based VLAN ensures that the plant apparatuses 36that belong to the same subnet belong to the same VLAN. This permitsdata circulation only within the same VLAN. The manufacturing linenetwork 35 may be constituted a single VLAN or a plurality of VLANs.Each of the plant apparatuses 36 belongs to at least one VLAN that isselected to suit the role thereof. As a result, the plant apparatuses 36having the same role belong to the same VLAN, thereby allowing forefficient circulation of data in the manufacturing line network 35.

As described above, both the automated manufacturing lines A1 and A2manufacture the same kind of goods through the same processes.Therefore, the manufacturing line computer system 30A-2 has the sameapparatus configuration as the manufacturing line computer system 30A-1.On the other hand, the manual manufacturing line B-1 manufactures thesame kind of goods through different processes. Therefore, themanufacturing line computer system 30B-1 has a different configurationfrom that of the manufacturing line computer system 30A-1. Specifically,the manufacturing line computer systems 30B-1 and 30A-1 are common inthat they have the line controller 32 and the switching hub 34, butdiffer in at least either the number or type of plant apparatuses 36. Itshould be noted that because both of the manual manufacturing lines B-1and B-2 manufacture the same kind of goods through the same processes asdescribed above, the manufacturing line computer system 30B-2 has thesame apparatus configuration as the manufacturing line computer system30B-1.

The line controller 32 includes the NAT function 32 a as describedabove, and as a result, translation of IP (Internet Protocol) addressestakes place between each of the plant apparatuses 36 of themanufacturing line network 35 and the management network 20. In each ofthe manufacturing line networks 35, therefore, an arbitrary IP addresscan be specified for each of the plant apparatuses 36 and the linecontroller 32. Here, the same group of IP addresses are specified forthe manufacturing line computer systems 30A-1 and 30A-2 by using atemplate which will be described later. Similarly, the same group of IPaddresses are specified for the manufacturing line computer systems30B-1 and 30B-2. Specifically, the same IP address is specified for theplant apparatuses 36 having the same role.

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate examples of templates designed for addresssetup. The template depicted in FIG. 2 has been prepared for automatedmanufacturing lines and applied to the manufacturing line computersystems 30A-1 and 30A-2. The template depicted in FIG. 3 has beenprepared for manual manufacturing lines and applied to the manufacturingline computer systems 30B-1 and 30B-2.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a table includes role information and networkaddresses. The role information indicates the role of each of the plantapparatuses 36 (computers) such as “PRODUCTION MANAGING PC 1” and “ROBOTARM 2.” Although the role information is a descriptive word for ease ofcomprehension here, it may be one of a variety of symbols. A networkaddress includes a host address and a subnet address. VLAN_1, VLAN_2,and VLAN_3 are available for the manufacturing line networks 35 of theautomated manufacturing lines. Subnet address “10.1.1” is assigned toVLAN_1, subnet address “10.1.2” is assigned to VLAN_2, and subnetaddress “10.1.3” is assigned to VLAN_3. In the template, a circleindicates to which VLAN the plant apparatus 36 with each role belongs.For example, the plant apparatus 36 with a role of “PRODUCTION MANAGINGPC 1” belongs to VLAN_1, and the subnet address thereof is “10.1.1.”Because the host address of the same plant apparatus 36 is “11,” thenetwork address thereof is “10.1.1.11.” Also, the plant apparatus 36with a role of “DATA WRITING PC 1” belongs to VLAN_1 and VLAN_2, and thesubnet addresses thereof are “10.1.1” and “10.1.2.” Because the hostaddress of the same plant apparatus 36 is “12”, the network addressesthereof are “10.1.1.12” and “10.1.2.12.” That is, two network addressesare assigned.

In contrast, the table depicted in FIG. 3 has been prepared for manualmanufacturing lines and has, therefore, a small number of roles, i.e.,plant apparatuses 36. Also, there is only one VLAN.

A description will be given here of building of a system according tothe present embodiment by taking, as an example, tasks undertaken tobuild the manufacturing line computer system 30A-2 for the automatedmanufacturing line A2. The line controller 32 is connected to themanagement network 20, followed by the connection of the switching hub34 to the line controller 32, to build the manufacturing line computersystem 30A-2. Further, the plant apparatuses 36 necessary for themanufacturing line A-2 are arranged and, connected to the switching hub34.

Next, a network setup program for line controller according to anembodiment of the present disclosure is started in the line controller32. FIG. 4 is an operational flowchart of this network setup program. Asdepicted in FIG. 4, when the network setup program is started, the linecontroller accesses the site server 10 first and acquires amanufacturing line list (S101). The manufacturing line list is a list ofmanufacturing line types. Here, two types of manufacturing lines,namely, “AUTOMATED MANUFACTURING LINE” and “MANUAL MANUFACTURING LINE”are described in the list.

Next, the line controller 32 displays the manufacturing line list on adisplay and prompts the user to select a manufacturing line type with aninput device such as mouse (S102). Thereafter, the line controller 32sends the selected manufacturing line type (“AUTOMATED MANUFACTURINGLINE” here) to the site server 10 (S103).

The site server 10 returns the template associated with the typereceived from the line controller 32 (template for automatedmanufacturing line depicted in FIG. 2 here), and the line controller 32receives the template (S104). The received template is stored in a localstorage device. It should be noted that the IP address indicated in thereceived template is specified in advance for the line controller 32 asits own IP address in the manufacturing line network 35. For example,according to the template depicted in FIG. 2, IP address “10.1.1.1” isspecified for the line controller 32.

Thereafter, the line controller 32 starts a network setup supportprogram. Also, each of the plant apparatuses 36 starts a plant apparatusnetwork setup program according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. FIG. 5 is an operational flowchart of the network setupprogram executed on the plant apparatuses 36 and the support programexecuted on the line controller 32. It should be noted that the linecontroller 32 includes the DHCP function 32 b, that a temporary IPaddress is assigned to each of the plant apparatuses 36 in advance, andthat the plant apparatuses 36 can communicate with the line controller32.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, when the plant apparatus network setup programis started in the plant apparatus 36, the plant apparatus 36 acquiresits MAC (Media Access Control) address (S201). Also, the plant apparatus36 displays an input form on its display and prompts the user to inputrole information regarding the plant apparatus 36 by using physicalkeys, a touch panel, and so on (S202). Thereafter, the plant apparatus36 sends the MAC address and role information to the line controller 32(S203) from the plant apparatus 36.

Because of the support program, the line controller 32 acquires the IPaddress associated with the received role information (S204) from thetemplate. Also, the line controller 32 changes the IP address, alreadystored in association with the received MAC address, into the IP addressreceived in S204 (S205). Then, the line controller 32 sends a request toupdate the IP address to the plant apparatus 36 (S206). The plantapparatus 36 receives the changed IP address from the line controller 32in response to this update request and changes its own IP address(S207).

The embodiment described above allows for identification of a templatebased on the manufacturing line type and specification of an IP addressfor the line controller 32 and the plant apparatuses 36 according to thespecified template. This ensures simple and reliable specification of IPaddresses. Moreover, when a plurality of manufacturing lines are of thesame type, the same group of IP addresses are assigned to the linecontroller 32 and the plant apparatuses 36, thereby facilitating networkmaintenance tasks.

It should be noted that the support program of the line controller 32may decide whether or not IP addresses have been assigned to the plantapparatuses 36 having all the roles described in the template and depictthe decision result on an output device such as display. This makes itpossible to reliably decide whether or not all the plant apparatuses 36are in place at the manufacturing line A2 and have been set up fornetworking.

The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosedin Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2017-093603 filed in theJapan Patent Office on May 10, 2017, the entire content of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalent thereof.

What is claimed is:
 1. A manufacturing line system, comprising: a servercomputer; a first computer in communications with the server computerover a management network; a switching hub that supports at least onevirtual local area network for interconnecting the first computer with amanufacturing line network; and a second computer, controlling at leastone robot-based manufacturing apparatus and communicating with the firstcomputer via the manufacturing line network, wherein: the first computeroperates to control the at least one robot-based manufacturing apparatusof the second computer by: (i) accessing a memory configured to store atemplate that associates data for the second computer, including aplurality of role categories for the at least one robot-basedmanufacturing apparatus, a plurality of elements of role informationeach belonging to at least one of the plurality of role categories, andnetwork addresses; and (ii) sending a network address to the secondcomputer in response to reception of an element of role information fromthe second computer, wherein each network address listed in the templateis a unique network address assigned to the robot-based manufacturingapparatus based on the received element of role information, the secondcomputer operates to: (i) receive the at least one element of roleinformation and a MAC (Media Access Control) address from the at leastone robot-based manufacturing apparatus in response to user input of theelement of role information; (ii) send the at least one element of roleinformation to the first computer; and (iii) receive the network addressassigned to the robot-based manufacturing apparatus based on the elementof role information sent from the first computer, the plurality of rolecategories include at least one of: (i) data writing actions; (ii)assembly actions; (iii) inspection actions; and (iv) packaging actions,and the second computer updates an old network address associated withthe MAC address to the received network address and instructs therobot-based manufacturing apparatus to update its network address to thereceived network address.
 2. The manufacturing line system of claim 1,wherein each of the plurality of elements of role information areassociated with a respective one of the network addresses, and each oneof the network addresses includes a host address and at least onevirtual local area network address.
 3. The manufacturing line system ofclaim 1, wherein the template of the memory is specific to a type ofmanufacturing line for the manufacturing line system.
 4. Themanufacturing line system of claim 3, wherein the first computer sendsinformation as to the type of a manufacturing line to the servercomputer, and in return the server computer sends the templateassociated with the type of a manufacturing line to the first computerto be employed in organizing the memory.
 5. The manufacturing linesystem of claim 4, wherein the first computer receives of a plurality oftemplates from the server, one such template associated with each typeof a manufacturing line.
 6. The manufacturing line system of claim 1,wherein: a first manufacturing line comprises the first computer, theswitching hub, at least one virtual local area network, manufacturingline network, the second computer, and the at least one robot-basedmanufacturing apparatus, and the manufacturing line system includes aplurality of manufacturing lines, each comprising a further firstcomputer, a further switching hub, a further at least one virtual localarea network, a further manufacturing line network, a further secondcomputer, and a further at least one robot-based manufacturingapparatus.